History Main / BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu

->'''Wally West:''' ...You lose.\\
'''Brainiac-Luthor:''' Hardly. Look around you -- the Justice League is completely defeated, and so are you. For all your efforts, you have but inconvenienced me, '''speck'''.
-->-- ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'', "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS2E12DividedWeFall Divided We Fall]]"

Okay, so you've just gotten into a brawl with your local EldritchAbomination, just after you deliver the [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu Knockout Punch]] against him. Apparently as a final "screw you", something bad happens to you, or the world you live in, in such a way there is almost no way to solve that problem that will be done without sacrifice.

Congratulations, you just [[TitleDrop broke your arm punching out Cthulhu]].

This trope is called upon as a way of showing the true futility of trying to stop the physical or literal manifestation of an all-powerful being. It really doesn't matter if you have powerful mythical weapons or giant galaxy-destroying guns; the physical form of him is irrelevant to his powers to [[CurbStompBattle utterly smack you aside with merely a nod]]. It just can't really be done. {{Eldritch Abomination}}s such as the namer of the trope himself do not feel much pain from being punched out, since all you did was merely [[FightingAShadow destroy his physical manifestation]], and punching him out will only delay your demise as you:

# Stop him for now; when he wakes up, [[UnstoppableRage he is going to be pissed]].
# Find out [[NoSell your punch didn't even graze him]].
# [[PyrrhicVictory Have a broken arm, so when he wakes up, you will be screwed.]]
# Are now possessed or infected with TheVirus as a result of touching or killing him, and will eventually ''[[AndThenJohnWasAZombie become]]'' [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt him...]]
# Truly ''do'' defeat him, but only at the cost of [[PyrrhicVictory almost everything you were trying to save]], up to and including [[GoMadFromTheRevelation your sanity]] or your [[OurSoulsAreDifferent soul]].
# Truly ''do'' defeat him, but have drawn the attention of even ''[[FromBadToWorse worse]]'' [[AvengingTheVillain things that want revenge on you]].
# Kill his weak form, [[OneWingedAngel then he transforms...]]
# [[MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning Set off his backup plan]] -- can be anything from a child with a water squirter, to a bomb, or to the awakening of a giant demon.
# Find out that he was the sanest of the bunch; without him, the [[EvilPowerVacuum smaller fry are now beating up one another and the brawl takes out the world since there is no one to lead them]]. NiceJobBreakingItHero.
# [[TheProblemWithFightingDeath Have to face him again when you die because he's in charge of the afterlife]].

This trope can also extend to normal all-powerful organizations or an alien race where it is only a temporary victory and the next battle can be for sure a total defeat. For endings related to this trope, either 1) [[BittersweetEnding A close call]], or 2) [[DownerEnding all for naught]]!

!!As this can be an {{Ending Trope|s}}, [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff unmarked spoilers abound]]. [[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned Beware]].

** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' has this in its sequel ''Dissidia 012'' when the prequel cycle, Cloud, at the time a warrior on [[BigBad Chaos]]' side, turned on Chaos out of fear of Tifa being hurt in the conflict. After a fight in-game, Chaos [[TheBattleDidntCount simply laughs off Cloud's attempt and kills him]], which led to Cloud being revived in the next cycle as a warrior on Cosmo's side, but his death in the battle meant he longer had the memories of the early cycles.
* Dissidia 012 also contains an inversion of this trope during the end of the 12th cycle. [[spoiler: When Warrior of Light is besieged by [[ZergRush an endless horde of Manikins]] with their eyes set on [[BigGood Cosmos]], the goddess is provoked into diverting her power from mantaining the balance of the world and launches an attack that [[TotalPartyKill eliminates all of the manikins at once.]] In doing so however, she uses up all of her life force and dies [[DeathIsCheap (temporarily)]], leaving the world to be ravaged by Chaos' influence. By the time everyone is restored and the 13th cycle begins, the balance of the world has been irrevocably thrown off by Cosmos' abscence and they more-or-less NEED to decisively win the 13th cycle to avoid the total collapse of the world.]]

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyDissidia'' has this in its sequel ''Dissidia 012'' when the prequel cycle, Cloud, at the time a warrior on [[BigBad Chaos]]' side, turned on Chaos out of fear of Tifa being hurt in the conflict. After a fight in-game, Chaos [[TheBattleDidntCount simply laughs off Cloud's attempt and kills him]], which led to Cloud being revived in the next cycle as a warrior on Cosmo's side, but his death in the battle meant he longer had the memories of the early cycles.

* The only way for [[Comicbook/DoctorStrange Dr. Strange]] to beat Shuma-Gorath on his home turf was to tap into the demon's power source. Using Shuma's power started to make him become another Shuma-Gorath though and "killing" Shuma only sped up the process, so Strange had to commit suicide. Luckily someone else was able to save the Doctor, which was good a while later when we learn Shuma wasn't permanently dead.

* In the ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' storyline "Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut" Spider-Man's second fight with the Juggernaut goes like this. Struggling to find a way to hurt him, Spidey tries ramming a tanker truck into him only to find it just made him angry. Ultimately Spider-Man manages to win the fight by tricking Juggernaut into a load of cement, but due to how Juggernaut's powers work (he doesn't need to eat, drink, sleep, or even ''breathe''), Juggy eventually just dug his way out. Keeping the latter part of the trope from being played straight, Spidey's confrontations with the Juggernaut after that were rare and handled ''much'' differently; in the most recent one, Spidey [[SheatheyourSword simply gave him what he wanted]] so he'd go away.

* In ''Manga/HunterXHunter'', Netero nearly kills the Chimera Ant King Meruem [[spoiler:by stopping his own heart to trigger the incredibly powerful bomb implanted in his own body. This desperate move only fails because two of Meruem's strongest minions sacrifice most of their power and body mass to restore him]]. Later, Gon utterly destroys [[spoiler:Neferpitou, the second strongest Chimera Ant alive by forcefully aging himself to vastly increase his power. Said powerboost comes at the cost of a shortened lifespan and the possibility that Gon will never be able to use nen again]]. In a more literal example, [[spoiler:Gon's right arm is torn off by zombie!Pitou when Gon lets his guard down thinking the battle was over after he crushed Pitou's head. Gon pins the monster down with his own ripped-off arm and finishes it off with a final "rock" attack that apparently leaves Gon on the brink of death]]. However, this is subverted [[spoiler: when it's revealed the deadliest part about the bomb implanted in Netero is the ''poison'' that will kill everything that comes in contact with the bomb or people poisoned by it. That kills Meruem for good]]. Chapter 345 reveals that [[spoiler:even after a RealityWarper saved his life, Gon still hasn't fully recovered. [[BroughtDownToNormal He cannot see or use Nen anymore]]]].

** An almost literal example in ''ComicBook/BatmanHush'', when trying to survive against a BrainwashedAndCrazy Superman, even with his Kryptonite ring, Batman could land a few punches on Superman before not being able to punch him anymore because impacts broke every bone in his hand.

* Supergirl trashed the Anti-Monitor during the ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', but he took her out. She {{d|yingMomentOfAwesome}}ied and her existence was erased from the memory collective of the universe... for a while.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'', this is the only way the only kind of win John Constantine ever pulls off. To get rid of [[MonsterOfTheWeek this issue's monster]], chances are [[AndYourLittleDogToo either someone he loves has to die]], or [[NiceJobBreakingItHero his actions set up an even greater problem to be dealt with at a later date]].

* In ''ComicBook/TheKorvacSaga'', Korvac fights the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy at once and crushes all of them easily.

** Thor managed to slay the Midgard Serpent -- a giant dragon among giant dragons -- with a massive hammer blow to the head. He was already in constant pain and obliged to wear a full-body armor suit for support due to a curse by [[WhoWantsToLiveForever the goddess of death]], but the death blow ''reduced him to a pulped ([[AndIMustScream yet still living]]) mass of flesh contained within said armor''. Given he was prophesied to die after killing the Midgard Serpent, as per Myth/NorseMythology; this is actually a plus.
** A more graphic example was when he hit an invulnerable Viking named Herald Jaekelson so hard it nearly tore his hands off.

** Solas in ''Videogame/DragonAgeInquisition'' dislikes the Wardens because he believes that wiping out the Old Gods entirely could have dire consequences for the world ''even worse'' than the Blights.

* The hero of the first ''{{VideoGame/Diablo}}'' game winds up with a case of TheVirus, since his mind was shattered by Diablo's final insult[[note]]the hero had just killed his possessed little brother[[/note]] and was subsequently brainwashed into believing the only way he could banish the Lord of Evil was to shove a chunk of it into his face. The hero of ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' figures out a better way... [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer and hits it with a hammer.]]

** Guy breaks his leg ''kicking'' out Madara so hard that the latter's torso is blown open. His body also starts falling apart because he was using the [[DeadlyUpgrade Eighth Gate]], and Madara's HealingFactor simply starts fixing the damage. [[spoiler:Naruto saved him from guaranteed death, but his leg was so far beyond repair (havig partially crumbled away as it [[ReducedToDust turned to ash]], even) that he remains crippled.]]

** Guy breaks his leg ''kicking'' out Madara so hard that the latter's torso is blown open. His body also starts falling apart because he was using the [[DeadlyUpgrade Eighth Gate]], and Madara's HealingFactor simply starts fixing the damage. [[spoiler:Naruto saved him from guaranteed death, but his leg was so far beyond repair that he remains crippled.]]

** Guy breaks his leg ''kicking'' out Madara so hard that the latter's torso is blown open. His body also starts falling apart because he was using the [[DeadlyUpgrade Eighth Gate]]. [[spoiler:Naruto saved him from guaranteed death, but his leg was so far beyond repair that he remains crippled.]]

** The end of the Discordance comes when [[spoiler:Jagganoth's OneWingedAngel form defeats Allison and the Six thanks to a Gog-Agog pulling a ScrewThisImOuttaHere. Realizing that any chance to defeat him with teamwork has passed, Solomon David ends up pulling a TakingYouWithMe by unsealing a DangerousForbiddenTechnique intended for use to kill the gods if they ever returned to their Creation with hostile intent. This technique ends up sealing Jagganoth away from The Multiverse, but destroys Solomon's body beyond the point his Magus Key can heal him. Jagganoth, on his end, slowly begins unraveling the technique.]]

* In the ''Blog/BetterBonesAU'': [[spoiler: Feathertail]] manages to kill the DestroyerDeity One-eye's most recent incarnation, but not only does she die in the process but a Clan cat killing him ensued his next incarnation will terrorize the Clans, or at least the forest where they once lived, instead of the Tribe.
** Speckletail takes down a [[HumansAreCthulhu human's]] bulldozer but both dies and incurs the humans' wrath as they go out to catch cats.
* In ''{{Fanfic/Everqueen}}'', it is mentioned that after imprisoning the Void Dragon, the Emperor spent ten thousand years with ResurrectiveImmortality, but very limited powers aside from that.

** During the FinalBattle of the Generational Transitions Arc with [[PhysicalGod Strife]], [[spoiler:Thistle Whistle]] headbutts her with all her might to interrupt one of her attacks. Her blow is enough to stun Strife for a moment...but broke every bone in [[spoiler:Thistle Whistle]]'s body and killed her instantly. However, this attack ''was'' enough to earn Strife's respect and Strife still holds her in high regard to this day, even constructing a statue of her in her realm.
** A ChildProdigy made the [[WeaponOfMassDestruction Concept Killing Spear]] to try and kill life itself. She succeeded in murdering the demi-god of Sharing Love Cupid...but this ended up [[RetGone erasing every life Cupid and his Concept ever aided in making from existence]] along with him. While the nameless filly didn't care much for that, this trope comes in full force when [[MamaBear Cupid's furious mother Venus]] descends from the spirit world and [[CurbstompBattle easily kills her]] in revenge before giving her a ''very'' harsh but well-deserved punishment. [[spoiler:On top of this, Cupid's Concept would eventually be resurrected by fusing his Shadow of Existence with a mare named Lovestruck.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH'': Mrs. Brisby learns that the Rats of NIMH often need to drug up the residential Farm Cat [[CatsAreMean Dragon]] whenever they are working on a major project that takes them out of the Rosebush, [[SlippingAMickey by placing a sleeping draught into his supper dish.]] When Mrs. Brisby arrives at the Rosebush seeking an audience with Nicodemus: she finds Dragon struggling to stay awake, and later on Mr. Ages walking around with a cast on his right leg. Mr. Ages volunteered to drug Dragon that day, but on his way back to the hole he crawled up into the farmhouse from; he broke his leg.

** Shepard's actions throughout the trilogy as a whole amounted to this. The Reapers had the ''perfect'' plan to [[RobotWar exterminate all galactic sapience]] that they have executed possibly hundreds (or even thousands) of times, but [[VideoGame/MassEffect1 is foiled by Shepard]]. Then their backup plan [[VideoGame/MassEffect2 is also foiled by Shepard]]. Then their ''backup'' backup plan is also foiled by Shepard. So they abandon their well-laid plans that have worked for ''millions'' of years and just ZergRush Earth while Shepard happens to be there.

* The worst ending of the ''VideoGame/MassEffect'' trilogy (you need to intentionally screw the war effort up ''just'' enough so you can barely win) has Shepard sacrifice themselves to permanently destroy every Reaper in existence - by ''nuking the entire galaxy with overloaded Mass Relays''. In addition to purging even more life than the Reapers did in eons, they've ensured the few survivors are now stuck in an endless Dark Age.

* ''Literature/OldKingdom'' series:
** In ''Literature/{{Sabriel}}'', Sabriel's father uses the bell Astarael, which sends anyone who hears it deep into Death, to try to permanently kill the book's undead villain. It doesn't work. It does, however, delay him enough for Sabriel to get away and find a better way of killing him. Which also doesn't work. So she [[SealedEvilInACan seals him away instead]].
** In ''Literature/{{Abhorsen}}'', the only way to seal the BigBad would result in [[spoiler:the death of the caster of said seal thanks to a backlash effect and the BigBad trying to [[TakingYouWithMe take her with him]]. Lirael goes through with it anyways, but survives when the Disreputable Dog bites off her hand, saving Lirael's life]].

-->-- ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS2E12DividedWeFall Divided We Fall]]"

** The page quote is taken from the ''Unlimited'' episode "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS2E12DividedWeFall Divided We Fall]]" after the titular league knock themselves out in the process of destroying the DoomsdayDevice of a near PhysicalGod {{Nanomachine}}-controlling Brainiac/Lex Luthor fusion. "Brainthor", able to rebuild it in a matter of minutes and being utterly undamaged, shrugs it off with the above comment. [[spoiler: It is then subverted, when Flash [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass taps into the Speed Force]] and uses it to demolish the villain atom by atom, faster than his nanomachines can compensate.]]
** The episode "The Terror Beyond" featured a team of [[ComicBook/TheDefenders Defenders-expies]] set up to beat back an incursion of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, which they end up doing by killing [[{{Expy}} Ichthultu]]… but [[spoiler: Solomon Grundy]] dies in the process.
** A much less serious version of this trope happened in "This Little Piggy" when Characters/{{Batman|TheCharacter}} and Characters/{{Zatanna}} picked a fight with [[PhysicalGod Circe]]. The two make a fair account of themselves until Circe actually starts fighting ''back'', at which point she reveals that she's just humouring them. Since Circe is a screwball type, they manage to talk their way out of further confrontation.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Powerpuff Girls|1998}}'': In the episode "Speed Demon", [[spoiler:When having a race to home from school, the girls end up flying so fast that they end up ''traveling through time'' into a BadFuture where "the whole world went to [[GoshDangitToHeck heck]]" because the girls weren't around to stop [[SatanicArchetype HIM]]. When the girls find HIM, they beat him up as usual, but he just gets up and tells them that fighting them would be pointless; he has already won because of the damage he has done to the world. THEN he goes OneWingedAngel! The girls realize the only thing they can do is travel back through time to the point before they had the race in the first place]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'', Hiccup [[spoiler:loses half his left leg in the process of defeating the humungous dragon at the end]].

** The end of the Discordance comes when [[spoiler:Jagganoth's OneWingedAngel form defeats Allison and the Six thanks to a Gog-Agog pulling a ScrewThisImOuttaHere. Realizing that any chance to defeat him with teamwork has passed, Solomon David ends up pulling a TakingYouWithMe by unsealing a DangerousForbiddenTechnique intended for use to kill the gods if they ever returned to their Creation with hostile intent. This technique ends up sealing Solomon and Jagganoth away from The Multiverse, but though Solomon died performing it Jagganoth manages to undo it three years later.]]

Congratulations, you just broke your arm punching out Cthulhu.

# [[TheProblemWithFightingDeath Have to face him again when you die because he's in charge of the afterlife.]]